MAM
WPP, AwesomenessTV & Verizon invest in Hispanic digital network Mitu
MUMBAI: Mitú – an online Hispanic-focused digital content creator and media company catering to young Latino audiences in the US and Latin America – has raised a sum of $27 million from WPP Digital, DreamWorks Animation’s AwesomenessTV and Verizon Ventures in a round of Series C funding.
With this the company’s total funding till date is now $43 million. The company’s existing investor Upfront Ventures also participated in this fresh round.
Mitú’s clients include America Movil, Kia, MillerCoors, NBCUniversal and Procter & Gamble. Mitú was founded in 2012 and is based in Santa Monica with offices in Mexico and Colombia. It employs around 120 people.
Mitú creates and distributes original content as well as producing branded entertainment on behalf of its clients. Mitú’s technology enables it to efficiently analyze its Latino audience’s consumption of content across social media, thus providing it with a feedback loop for the company to continually create viral content. Mitú has over two billion global monthly views across all platforms in the US, as well as Mexico, Brazil and other Latin American countries.
WPP Digital’s minority interest acquisition in Mitú, continues WPP’s strategy of investing in regions and sectors such as digital.
Mitú founder and CEO Roy Burstin said, “Latinos represent 24 per cent of millennials in the US. That’s why we think of this demo not as a niche but as a part of the mainstream. Mitú’s content brings a distinct point of view that appeals broadly to young, mobile audiences. Brands want to reach these young consumers but accessing them through traditional channels has proved elusive. Mitú has reach where others have struggled.”
WPP chief digital officer Scott Spirit added, “This investment fits perfectly with WPP’s strategy of investing in digital, content and fast-growth markets, such as countries in Latin America, and demographics, such as US Hispanic youth. Clients are trying to reach audiences where they organically spend their time. With young audiences, you need to reach them online and this investment in Mitú is a great vehicle for clients of WPP companies to accomplish that.”
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
